Lawyer Arianit Koci has spoken out about the arrest of Kosovo citizens in Serbia, saying that an "undeclared war" is being waged against Kosovo by Serbia.
In an interview with Radio Dukagjini, he emphasized that Kosovo institutions must show much more vigilance and commitment to protect citizens arbitrarily detained by Serbian authorities.
"You know that we are in an undeclared war with Serbia. And of course, whenever we have political tensions, innocent citizens are paying for it in one way or another. Therefore, the state should be much more vigilant in these cases, much more active, and I, individually, am trying to help in every case, but you must understand that I do not have as much power as the state of Kosovo and in no case can I carry out the affairs of the state of Kosovo," said Koci.
Koci criticizes the fact that Kosovo is not sufficiently utilizing one of the mechanisms of the 2013 Brussels Agreement, the exchange of liaison officers between Pristina and Belgrade.
According to him, Serbia has accepted this mechanism, although it tries to minimize its role, while Kosovo should strengthen it and give it more diplomatic weight.
"Remind your listener that it is an agreement that we often forget, but it is actually one of the most important instruments that Kosovo has in relation to Serbia. We are talking about the 2013 agreement, the Brussels agreement on liaison officers. In a way, Belgrade has accepted Kosovo."
Two countries, Kosovo and Serbia, have exchanged liaison officers, each side has the right to call it whatever they want, for us it is the Embassy of Kosovo in Serbia.
As for Serbia, they have reduced it to the level of a tourist agency. But it is incomprehensible that Serbia has somehow accepted Kosovo with this agreement, even though this is an agreement for more technical issues, I don't understand why.
"Kosovo does not give it more importance. I understand that Serbia will minimize the role of liaison officers, but Kosovo has an interest in increasing the role and for me this is currently the most important embassy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Koci added.
He praised the work of Ambassador Jetish Jashari at the Liaison Office in Belgrade, calling it "fantastic", but stressed that the liaison office faces a lack of staff and basic conditions.
"Ambassador Jetish Jashari is doing a fantastic job. But, there is a problem of a technical nature. First, you are missing a diplomat there, which is foreseen by the agreement, because the agreement foresees three. There are no basic technical conditions.
"Imagine having a car that has about six hundred thousand miles on it. The air conditioning never works, it never works, it doesn't look representative. The Ambassador of Kosovo should be representative," added Koci.
